Early Days

This section charts the early history of John Lewis, the department store division of the John Lewis Partnership. It begins with the opening of the very first store on Oxford Street by Mr John Lewis, without whom there would be no John Lewis department stores, John Spedan Lewis, or the co-owned business known today as the John Lewis Partnership. The section culminates with the pivotal events of 1940, the purchase of the Selfridge Provincial Stores group by the Partnership, and the tragic bombing of John Lewis on Oxford Street.